Laps? Lengths? It's all new to me.

The other day when I said I swam 25 laps, I guess I should have said 25 "lengths." I didn't know a lap was an "out and back." I have always considered one end to the other as a lap. But, I guess if you think of a track, once around is a lap. So, once around (down the lane and back) the pool lane would be a lap I guess. What do you swimmers out there say? What is the correct way to say it?



Today I swam 72 lengths, or 36 laps, or ONE MILE. I would say 85% of it was freestyle, with the other 15% being breaststroke. When I went on Tuesday, my right leg was moving but not really helping a lot because I felt like I couldn't bend my ankle very well. Today was much better. I was able to kick good with my right foot so it felt easier to move through the water.



About half way through the session, the lifeguard asked me to move from the "medium speed" lane over to the "fast speed" lane because he saw me having to wait too often at either side for people to GO and then I was catching up to them too quickly. Toward the end, I told him this was only my second day in the pool in close to 30 years. It was nice to see he was pretty shocked about this.



I went to pilates after showering and changing at the swim center. Pilates was a little more challenging today. She did different things than she did on Tuesday so that was nice. I could definitely feel my abs heating up. Thumbs up to that! ;)

I had an appointment with Floyd this afternoon. He was happy with the increased range of motion in my ankle. He did some isolated massage, ultrasound and stretching. After that, he set me up with a big rubber band (similar to ones used in pilates) and had me do three different movements with that. Then we did some balancing exercises. I mentioned I have a Wii Fit and he said the balance games on there would be a great idea. I have lots of homework to do. He wants me to strengthen BOTH ankles so I can be safer out on the trails. Just when I thought we were through, the torture came. He hooked four leads onto my ankle and sent electric stimulation to it, along with a boot wrapped around the foot that was circulating ice cold water around my entire foot. This went on for 15 minutes. I can't say I was a big fan of that procedure. We still like Floyd though. I believe he has my best interest in mind.

What's the plan for tomorrow? A swim in the morning and then a hike with Boomer before I go to work in the early afternoon.

Until later.............

Back to the scene of the crime

Today, exactly three weeks after my ankle "incident", Jana and I went back to Lake Chabot to tackle the inner loop the direction I wanted to do it back then. I also wanted to see if Miguel (the guy that carried my ass on his back for over a mile) would be there. He said he hikes that loop every morning. We tackled the 8.75 mile loop in 2:43. I was powering up the hills as much as I could. Someone commented on my last post about this and it makes total sense to me. Who knows, maybe I'll eventually be running the hills and walking the flats and down hill portions. That would be interesting. We never did spot Miguel. Maybe next time. I won't give up. I want to thank him again for what he did.


The day started off very cool and overcast. I have no idea what is up with our summer here in the bay area. It was about 60 degrees when we got there. It did clear up but I never took off my long sleeves. The dogs really enjoyed the cool air. Here are just a few pictures to share.

I'm actually looking forward to my Pilates class in the morning. And, get this - I'm going to swim laps again too!! I know! I can hardly believe it. For timing reasons this time, I'm going to swim first and then go to Pilates. I hope it will work out okay.

I have an appointment with Floyd tomorrow also. My ankle felt very good today. It feels better than it did before I sprained it three weeks ago. I have a lot more range of motion than I ever did after my last sprain in May. I still can't get over the fact that I ran a 50K in June with it the way it was. Pretty foolish, huh?

Until later.............

Things are lookin' up!

I first would like to say thank you to THE BEST FREAKIN' BLOGGERS IN THE WORLD. The support and encouraging words you all left for me was awesome. Some of you even left me emails and personal messages on facebook, if you didn't respond here. Most of you made me cry like a little girl, but I think that was good. I'm so encouraged by what a lot of you said. I didn't even think about so many of the things that were brought up. I think you'll be happy to know that I'm not giving up without a fight!! Thank you all so much. It's a great relief to know I have you on my side whenever I need you. ;)

Sunday I managed to do some hiking up and around Mission Peak with my hubby. We took my next door neighbor's doggie, Sophie, along with us. Her daddy is out of town so Sophie enjoyed getting outside with Boomer. Jerry usually takes the dogs out on Sunday morning for their play date at Garin so it was nice they still got to spend time together.

Last night I had my first physical therapy appointment with Floyd who specializes in sports injuries (and rehab). I have been working on getting my ankle moving for a week now so he was pleased with the range of motion I DO have at this point. It's at about 50% of what it should be. He poked at it, stretched it, moved it around, massaged it and finally did a five minute ultrasound on it. I have high hopes for Floyd. I think in the next few weeks he will have me where I'm supposed to be. We talked a little bit about my knee and he's a firm believer (as many of you are) that since running is such a great passion of mine, I should be able to do it. There's too many technologies out there to help me achieve that. We talked about the brace I have for the knee and he thought that would be a great idea to wear that and start running again. He definitely agreed that I should stay on trails. YIPPEE! We like Floyd, don't we?

This morning I went to a Pilates class at my gym (24 Hour). I have read that it's very good for arthritis in the knee. I liked it. I can see where it can benefit me in a lot of different areas. I will probably take the class twice a week, as long as I'm not working when the class is held.

Then this afternoon I went SWIMMING with Jana! There's an indoor swim center right down the street from me. It has lap swimming, infinity pool, water slides, lazy river. I had to buy myself a one-piece suit this morning. Can I just say something about one-piece bathing suits? Who the hell do they use as models for these? Seriously!! Who? I'm 5'4" tall, always wear a size 6 (size 4 on my good days). Why am I not fitting into one of the small sizes in a bathing suit? Why am I having to buy one that is even bigger than my bra size? What do the numbers mean anyway? When I tried one on in my bra size, the portion between my boobs and my crotch didn't even touch my body and part of my boobs stuck out on the side. It was ridiculous! Anyway, I bought a suit. And a new cap. And I swam. I swam 25 laps. IT WAS HARD! It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was on a swim team in high school. I think that's the last time I swam a lap. I'm pretty sure it is. My goal was to swim two laps at a time without stopping. I accomplished that but almost passed out I was so dizzy after the second set. I was switching up the strokes too. Two freestyle, two back, two breast, etc. When I got out of the pool, I felt like rubber. But then Jana and I spent another hour playing on the water slides and the lazy river. ;)

I'm sore tonight. My shoulders and triceps mostly. I'm not complaining, I like this kind of sore. I also like activities that challenge me. I won't say Pilates challenged me very much, but swimming definitely did. Pilates is "a keeper" though because I think it will be good for me. I'll be doing a lot of both, I can tell you that.

Thanks again for your support. You guys ROCK!

Until later.............

Do you want the bad news, or the worst news?

I have been thinking of how I'm going to write this. I still haven't come up with a good way, so I'm just gonna type and see what comes out.

I received my MRI results Friday morning. It's not a torn MCL. It's bad arthritis. Arthritis on the joint on the inside of my knee. When it can be seen on the MRI, she says, "it's pretty advanced."

Bone-to-bone. The cartilage is gone. It will not get better. It will only get worse. You won't be running anymore.

Those last five statements have been whirling around in my head every second of every hour I have been awake since I heard them. Even as I type this, my eyes tear up. I know. Silly, right?

This is not a death sentence and I understand that. It's not "the end of the world." My life is going to be a little different from this point forward, that's all. I can say that but I feel anything but. I can't joke about it. I can't make light of it.

I will never run a road marathon. I will never do a 50-miler. I will never do a 100K. I will never do another 50K.

I'm not sure if it's the actual thought of not doing these things or the thought of not being able to do these things with the people that DO do them that makes me so sad. I have made so many connections because of the running that I do. What's going to happen to those connections once I stop "connecting" with them on that level?

Yes, I have had a lot of pep talks with myself about what I still CAN do. This post is not about that though. I need to grieve about and accept the "not running" part before I can be happy and start diving into other activities. Don't worry though, I haven't climbed into a cave. I have gone on a couple of very nice hikes this weekend which is helping me process this.

Give me a couple of days (or so) and I will hopefully be back to my normal self.

Until later.............

SF Expo with a new friend!

I finally got to meet Penny from Planet Ynnep Running. We've been trying to get together since April, and today everything came together to make that happen.

Her plan was to come into the San Francisco airport around noon, take BART to her hotel and get checked in. I was going to drive up to SF, pick her up at her hotel and go to the SF Marathon Expo. Well, things went a little differently. This morning I was at Garin with Boomer and Penny called to say her flight was delayed almost 1.5 hours. She was concerned about getting up here in time to go to the Expo. There was an earlier flight coming in to San Jose and she wanted to know how far that was away from me. I told her it was closer (just the opposite direction). If it was easier for her, I had no problem driving there. I ended up picking her up in San Jose, just a couple of hours later, and we drove to San Francisco together and went directly to the Expo. The Expo was PACKED. They ran out of 1/2 marathon shirts! How do you do that?

After the Expo we drove to Union Square and got Penny checked in to her hotel. I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a bag of peanut M&M's from her mini fridge. She ordered a pot of tea and we hung out and chatted for a couple of hours. We had dinner reservations at Enrico's in North Beach at 6:00 with Willie from OK and a group of his friends.

When we came out of dinner, the fog was rolling in and it was C-O-L-D!!! Penny was in heaven, while I on the other hand, was freezing walking back to the parking garage. I wasn't prepared for how cold it had turned.

I had such a great day with Penny. It feels like we have known each other forever. Like maybe we just hadn't seen each other since Christmas or something. Do you understand? At the risk of repeating myself from when I met AKA Alice, it's so strange when I meet a blogger friend in person. It never feels like a first meeting. We have talked on the phone quite a bit and we text each other all the time, but still, I'm so happy with how well we actually get along in person. We laughed a lot and talked a ton. I wish I could run the 1/2 marathon with her tomorrow but it's just not in the cards for me right now. Good luck Penny!

Until later.............

Your assistance, please............

I am thinking of changing the header on my blog. The picture I have on here now was taken before I started trail running. Yes, I am on a single track trail, with my boy, but I was only hiking. Not that that makes a huge deal, but I'm just sayin'.

I have chosen a few (that's an understatement) of my favorite photos from the last nine months. I am asking you to choose a favorite, that you might like to see every time you open up my blog. Leave the corresponding letter in your comment. If you think I should keep the one that's here now, just say that.

A.

B.
C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

Try to make a decision before looking at the comments, so your decision is not persuaded by other people's choices. Gosh, that sounds so "official", doesn't it? Just pick your favorite. ;)

Thanks for your help.

Until later.............

A much needed change of scenery

A few days ago, I had to miss out on all the fun at PCTR's Sequoia Trail Run. This morning, I decided I really miss that park! I printed out the 10K course directions, loaded up the car with Jana, Spike, Izzy, & Boomer and headed up to Oakland. We were shocked to find the fog when we got to the top of the hill, but it sure made for some beautiful pictures. The first one is the meadow, minus all the PCTR stuff and people. Enjoy!

Our plan was to hike/walk the 10K loop. I figured this would take roughly two hours, with my slow pace right now. It was very beautiful and peaceful there. It was a perfect hiking day and the dogs had a BLAST! They love it when it's cool and the ground is wet.

Oh, I said "our plan" was to hike the 10K loop, right? Well, we missed a turn off of French Trail, onto West Ridge Trail. This took us waaaaaay down French Trail, to Chown. On a weekday, there's not a lot of people out there. Finally, a trail runner comes by and we get our directions back to where we need to be. He tells us to go back to Fern Trail, take that up to West Ridge Trail and head back, zig zagging this way and that way, through this parking lot and that one. Lord. What should have taken two hours, took 4.5 hours!!! Thank goodness I had one bag of Gu Chomps that I could share with Jana and all three doggies. Oh well. We had a lot of catching (chatting) up to do anyway.

Until later.............

One down. One to go.

I'm talking about doctor appointments.

I drove across the bay early this morning to meet another orthopedist. First, his two assistants came in and asked me tons of questions about my ankle and the injury. It makes me wonder if doctors ever read notes from previous doctors, on patients they are seeing. It certainly would save a bit of time.

Bottom line is..............

Get the right ankle to move like the left ankle. Period! And start NOW. It is so sore and extremely tight, I cringe to think of the work I have ahead of me. He says it may take six months for it to fully heal. And that's with a lot of dedication on my part.

I have a prescription for physical therapy. I have a list of places I can get this done. I just need to choose one close to home.

I came home and took Boomer for a two mile walk around the neighborhood. I tried to do the heel to toe, normal step while walking but of course this is impossible right now. So, I walk mostly flat footed. This is what he wants to stop. I need to strengthen the ankle and be able to move it properly. After walking, I tried rolling it around a bit and stretching it. I need to be able to stand on my tippy toes eventually too. After that I iced it for 20 minutes. Then I had to take a pain pill.

This afternoon I have had some painful twitching going on. I guess that is to be expected when I'm stretching the tendons and ligaments inside there.

I'm going for another walk this evening and will stretch and ice again.

MRI on the knee tomorrow.


Until later.............

My Cankle Udate

I have begun "walking" with my right foot again. I wrap it in an ace bandage, squeeze it into a shoe and shuffle slowly, using mainly the inside of my foot. I get around "okay" but I definitely have a long way to go. Here is the foot, ten days after injury. You can see the beautiful coloring I am now getting on it. And do you like how the color changes as it moves up the leg? Nice, isn't it? The ankle bone is still not visible.

I made it through Thursday and Friday at work. Thursday was quite difficult, even though I was behind the counter, working the cash register. My foot really swelled up and became numb about half way through the day. Not a great feeling. Yesterday was better. I think because I knew I only had to make it through the day and then I would have four days off. Oops! That didn't last. They called me this morning and asked if I could come in today. So, I ended up working 12:30 to 7:30. I actually wore shoes today, without wrapping it up. Swelling is definitely decreasing. The pain is subsiding as well. I would say it has gotten better, by about 50% at this time.

I believe I have convinced myself to do a triathlon. That will get me to exercise in other ways besides hours and hours of running, yet still allow me to run and enjoy my trails. When I read about some of you doing long, strenuous bike rides I think it sounds so fun (in a challenging kind of way). And when some of you talk about swimming, I think I have a lot to learn! LOL I do struggle with the idea of exercising without my dog. I know, that may sound silly to many of you but it's all I've done for almost five years now. A lot of the enjoyment I get from my running is doing it with Boomer. And he likes it so much. Sometimes I wouldn't even have gone out at all if it weren't for him. It's something I need to get over, and I know I will, in time. It will be strange at first. Maybe. (I'm thinking out loud here) Because in reality, I've never gone on a bike ride WITH him. And I haven't swam at all since I've had him. Maybe it will be easier than I think. He will still be able to run with me, I just won't run as much. Hmmmm. I guess I can be rational, can't I?!

First though, I need to get my ankle better. I have an appointment on Monday, with the orthopedist that specializes in ankles. Then on Tuesday I have an MRI for my knee. Remember the knee issue (MCL) I was having prior to the ankle episode? I'll bet you forgot all about that, huh? Well, unfortunately I haven't. But, I am ready to get back to exercising as soon as I am told I can!

The SF 1/2 marathon is a week from tomorrow. I definitely plan on going to the Expo on Saturday with Penny and we are going to have dinner in San Francisco (hopefully North Beach). As far as the race on Sunday, I seriously doubt I will be running it. DUH! However, I might start it with Penny and walk and then when she is on her way back, I can go in with her. I won't wear my number unless I think I can walk the entire course though. I don't want to miss out on meeting a few fellow bloggers on Sunday though.

I'm anxious to see what Monday and Tuesday's appointments bring. I'll keep you posted.

Until later.............

Blogger Buddies

The Internet, once again, has successfully brought two women together, who otherwise would never have had a chance to meet. Last night I went up to Oakland and met up with the author of HefferBlog, AKA Alice.

She is in Oakland for work and is staying close to Jack London Square. I picked her up at her hotel and as soon as I saw her, we smiled and screamed hello. She got in the car and we exchanged a great big hug. It's so strange. Even though we have never talked, I felt as though I already knew her so well. We both share so much on our blogs, it's easy to feel comfortable around each other. She is as beautiful in person as she is in her photos.

We went to Scott's Seafood Restaurant for dinner. The waiter kept walking by after we got our menus. I think we had them open for well over half an hour and we still hadn't looked at it. We just kept talking and laughing. We finally stopped long enough to place our dinner order. I had a shrimp louie salad and she had salmon wrapped in prosciutto, with risotto. It seemed like two minutes later, our meals arrived. The silly girl filled up on her meal and really didn't want to order dessert, but I knew for a fact I was going to. So after I ate I ordered a piece of mud pie and AKA Alice ended up ordering some bread pudding. I polished mine off (naturally). She actually let the waiter take away her plate WHILE THERE WAS STILL DESSERT ON IT!!! I'm pretty darn sure I have never done that in my life. I was stunned. ;)

I think it was two hours after we sat down, when we were finally ready to leave the table. I was shocked, the restaurant was FULL. There was less than a dozen people there when we sat down. LOL

We walked (slowly) down toward the Port of Oakland and chatted some more. It was great to listen to her in person and learn more about her. I liked how comfortable I felt with her.

Thanks AKA Alice, for agreeing to meet and sharing a very nice evening with me. I hope we will get a chance to do it again some time.

Until later.............

Biggest "time suck"

I started reading blogs about two years ago. Actually, it was one person's blog and whoever commented on that one. I didn't search Blogger for any that might interest me. I didn't look for anybody I knew that might have a blog. I just checked in with a few people, every now and then. Last summer, my husband suggested I start a blog so I could share the beautiful places I run with other people that might be interested. I kept putting it off until finally, in the fall, I started this blog. And of course, it is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I would say I spend a fair amount of my free time on Blogger, catching up on all the blogs I now read and keeping my blog up to date.

Then, in just the past week, I discovered Facebook. Evidently I signed up on this site some time ago, but had forgotten. I recently started receiving via email, invitations from people, to "be their friend". I just ignored them because, honestly, I had no idea how Facebook worked. Well, I figured out how it works! I now have over 50 "friends" and in the past week, I have spent many waking hours on it. At first I felt like I was invading people's privacy. I got over that in just a couple of days. Now, it's new and it's FUN. As someone said to me, "it takes stalking to a whole new level." I do seem to get a bit confused when I am communicating with people on Facebook that also have blogs. Why? Because when people blog, you know them by their blog name, not their real name. Even if you do know their real name from Blogger, chances are you don't know their last name. Believe it or not, some people don't use their real name on Blogger but they do on Facebook. Like if someone sees me at a race, they will say, "hey, aren't you Single Track Junkie?" They don't say, "hey, aren't you Jo Lynn?" Sometimes I have to stop and think about who it is that's commenting on my status update, or leaving one themselves. It can drive a girl crazy!

And then there's Twitter. I haven't even looked into this one. I know a lot of people use it though. I may be wrong about this, but to me, Twitter is just a mass text message to all your "peeps". I do use text messaging A LOT but it's just a conversation between me and the person I am sending text messages to. So, isn't this like Facebook where you can post status updates? Why do some people use both Facebook and Twitter? Yes, I am naive about it.

My question to you is: Which "time suck" do you like/use the most, and why?

Ligaments, tendons & muscles, OH MY!

I went in to see my regular MD this morning about my ankle. Someone I actually trust. My pain level is still very high and I can't put any weight on my foot. I continue to have twitching and spasms in my ankle but they're not waking me up in the middle of the night like they were. My skin is starting to feel strange from the stretching caused by swelling. He looked at my X-rays and confirmed I don't have a fracture (which is still hard for me to fathom). We then discussed exactly what a sprain is.


He described it as a tearing, ripping of the ligaments, tendons and muscles around the bone. This sprain has also gone up to the ligaments between my tibia and fibula bones in my lower leg. Yup, I did it up pretty darn good. I asked him how these ligaments, tendons and muscles heal. He said by scar tissue. The reason this one is so bad is because there wasn't enough scar tissue yet, from my sprain in May. So when I rolled it this time, everything basically "blew up." Nice! I did hear a couple "pops" when it happened.


What now? It's going to be a loooong, slooooow recovery.

I won't be able to put weight on it for at least a couple more weeks. I need to elevate it when I can. He referred me to an orthopedist that specializes in ankles. I see him on Monday.


Tomorrow will be a week since the injury and here's the foot:


I am putting these pictures of my foot here so I can look back on them when I want to see my progress.


Right now, the thought of running down a trail scares the crap out of me. The initial pain I felt when it happened is still so fresh in my mind. I can't even imagine doing it again. I know this feeling will go away. However, I'm seriously considering a triathlon now, kind of mix things up for a while. Swimming and biking are beginning to interest me a little bit more.

My employer (REI) has been so great to me. The schedule comes out two weeks ahead of time and most employees are trained to work in certain departments only. Some (me included) are trained to work in more than one area. My main department is clothing/footwear. I'm also trained to work customer service/cashier. When I work in clothing/footwear, I am constantly walking around on a cement floor and making a monkey out of myself in the shoe warehouse, climbing shelves to retrieve shoes for customers. Since I'm limited to what I can do for the next two weeks, my supervisor (along with some extremely generous co-workers) has been able to arrange it so I will be working customer service, even though the schedule has me working clothing shifts the next two weeks. I was very touched that they would get together and make that happen for me. Have I told you how lucky I feel to work there?

HSE Lori picked up Boomer last night and took him to the creek trail for a run. That was so nice of her. Evidently Boomer thanked Lori by finding every goldfish cracker her children had dropped under or behind the seats in her car and "took care of them" for her. ;)

Until later.............

Another 48 down

Xena loves lounging around. She loves sprawling out and sleeping on her back. She finds it quite comfortable.

I, on the other hand, DON'T! I'm beginning to go a tad bit stir crazy. This will be the fourth day my butt has been flattened against a recliner cushion. Even it's bored - it keeps falling asleep.

Here is my ankle, 96 hours post-injury:

The nice purple tinge is spreading to my toes. The swelling is more isolated, over my ankle bone itself. As is the pain at this point. A constant pain right there! The involuntary twitching seems to have subsided. That was awful. I decided to take off the boot last night and put on a smaller, hard-sided brace when I went to bed. It didn't work as well as the boot. I ended up ripping it off during the night some time because it was itching me, of all things. When I woke up this morning I was in quite a bit of pain. I got up and iced it and then put my boot back on. Lesson learned, I guess.

Sara and I went to the movies yesterday and saw "The Proposal". It was a 10:10 a.m. show so I felt like I couldn't buy popcorn and candy. However, we did stop and get a frozen yogurt on the way home. And then I ended up asking Keith to go to Target after dinner because I was craving some chewy candy. He brought me back some Dots. I only ate half the box, you know, because I'm not running and all. :-\

The palms of my hands are beginning to feel a little bruised from the crutches.

My step-daughter (a hairdresser) is coming over for dinner tonight and she's going to blow dry my hair for me so I can feel some sort of normalcy for an evening.

HefferBlog, AKA Alice, is coming up north this week and I am excited to know that the two of us may actually meet in person and have dinner together. I wish I was able to take her for an early evening trail run in my hills but that will just have to wait.

All in all, I think things are starting to look up. I may not sound like it, but really I do. The hard part is making sure I don't over eat. The good part is, it's pretty hard to carry anything while you're using two crutches. However, with my husband being home, every time he gets up to leave the room, he asks me if I want anything. Yes, I have a very attentive husband, I'm not complaining.

My next door neighbor, Jerry, picked up Boomer for his Sunday morning play date. They spent a good 2.5 hours in the hills of Garin. He's happily sleeping the day away now. HSE Lori said she might pick him up and take him out for a run along the creek trail this week. He'll like that. Little guy's been staring me down, wondering when I'm going to get up and do something with him. Soon my boy, soon.

Until later.............

48 Hours

My ankle bone is still not visible. The foot is turning purple. The pain is being managed. I've been wearing my boot, except when I ice or take a shower. The involuntary twitching that wakes me up during the night is a little annoying. It's hard to believe it's not fractured, considering the pain I have but I've been told a sprain can actually hurt worse.


I realize I got a lot of mosquito bites while I was sitting on the trail waiting for help to arrive. At least I didn't get poison oak. Some muscles (I didn't know I had) are sore from hanging onto Miguel's back while he carried me down the trail.


I've been sitting in the recliner with a black kitty cat tucked in next to me. My 17 year old Baillie Girl. She hardly ever gets quality time with me so she is taking full advantage of my situation.


I'm getting more acquainted with Facebook and making friends. Mostly friends of friends. I'm still trying to get the hang of it. There's a lot I don't know about it. I have time now to learn, don't I?


My daughter is going to take me to a movie tomorrow, while Keith is golfing. He mentioned us maybe going to one this afternoon/evening.


That's about it for now.


Until later.............

Make it stop!

The plan was a good one. Jana and I left early this morning and headed up north to Lake Chabot again. We had her two dogs, my daughter's dog Bella, and of course Boomer. I wanted to do the inner loop the opposite direction this time. This meant heading west from the marina and dropping down to Columbine Trail after a couple of miles, for some fun single track trails. I was wearing my new knee brace, like the good girl I am. We were all having a marvelous time. And the scenery was awesome.

The black doggies on Columbine Trail.

At exactly the half way point, I hit something on the trail and heard a couple of snaps in my ankle as it twisted underneath me. The pain was overwhelming. I immediately called out to Jana and plopped down on my butt. I took off my shoe (why I always do this, I have no idea) and already it was swelling up. I saw stars in front of my eyes and I thought for sure I was going to pass out. I just kept saying Jana's name over and over, and how much it hurt.

Of course we had no phone signal. I was able to send a text to Keith to let him know I had hurt myself. Probably a mistake because we were never able to touch base with each other again so he had NO IDEA what the hell was going on. Jana and I didn't know which direction to go to get help. I couldn't put any weight on my foot. My shoe wouldn't go back on. Jana went forward, thinking the campground might be close and she could get some help there. The three black dogs went with her and my little son stayed right there with me. He lay down on the trail and just sat there. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen. He stayed very calm.

Jana and the dogs came back 30 (or so) minutes later. No help. We decided we should try to go back the way we came. Plus, we had no phone signal and needed to call SOMEBODY. We tried everything to get me moving. Now, you remember when I ran out of Big Basin in May with my sprain, right? Yah, that was not happening today. Jana found a big stick and I tried to hobble with that. I tried holding onto her. I just couldn't move beyond a few steps. After a few minutes a very nice hiker named Miguel came up on us. After telling him what happened, he asked how much I weigh. I told him and he said he could carry me out. Really?! Well, I'll give it a try. So, on his back I went. This nice Miguel carried me on his back for at least a mile, up and down the single track trail. We had to take a few breaks, only at my request because my thighs were hurting. Jana stopped when she got a signal and made a few phone calls, trying to get someone to meet us on the fire road at the bottom of Columbine.

We finally heard someone yelling, "Hello?" We yelled back and he told us to stay put. It was a firefighter for the East Bay Regional Parks District, with a two-way radio. He told me the firefighters and ambulance were on their way. WHAT? I don't want or need a stinkin' ambulance. I just need a ride to my car at the marina so Jana can get me back to Fremont and I can go to my doctor. GAH! A EBRPD motorcycle policeman showed up. He wanted all my information. An EBRPD medic showed up and gave me an ice pack and took my vitals. Then finally, four firefighters showed up with a big basket on a big wheel. They made a splint for my foot and loaded me up. They wheeled me out the 3/4 mile to a wider portion of the trail. Here is the ambulance waiting. Lovely! I just want a ride to my car. We go back and forth about me getting taken to the local hospital in the ambulance. No thank you. But you really should...... No thank you. They finally agree to load me up and take me to my car, even though I refuse treatment. A ranger, along with the EBRPD firefighter, lead the way with Jana and the four dogs in the back of the pick-up truck. Then me in the ambulance. Then the cop on the motorcycle. We get back to the marina and who is there? My husband. He went through his own trials and trouble to even find out where I was at the lake. LORD!

I thanked everybody, apologized for being so much trouble. I really felt like a heel. It's only a sprained ankle. I went to the doctor, got more friggin' X-rays. I slapped the doctor's hand and she made me cry by asking me "does it hurt here?" I screamed at the X-ray technician after she touched me "here." I was given a big black boot to wear this time and told to stay off of it for two weeks and then see a podiatrist.

I'm not making light of this at all. This sprain is much worse than my last one. Thankfully I didn't break something. I know now, I should have let my ankle heal fully. It's just so darn difficult for me. Running is my drug of choice and it truly helps me stay sober. Being out in the woods clears my mind and makes everything right. It adjusts my mood, when needed. Seeing that it is so important to me, I really need to get myself completely well. I know this. Now I have to accept this. That's the hard part. But I have to do it.

Thanks for listening.

Until later.............

Orthopedic appointment

The day started off with a four miler at Garin with Boomer. I ran the whole thing, figuring the doctor today would (again) tell me I couldn't run for a while. Less than two miles in, when I started on the flat surface around the pond, my knee started giving me pain. Uphill and downhill portions don't make it hurt AT ALL.

This is what the day has turned into:

Of course, I had to have X-rays and nothing showed up there. An assistant and the doctor examined my knee before telling me my symptoms are pointing to a torn meniscus. They have ordered an MRI. My insurance company has to approve it. I will find out Thursday, if they will pay for that. I will know in about a week, what's going on with the knee.

I can continue to walk and hike. She says it's not like I'm going to do any more damage to it. So, hike and walk I will do.

Until later.............

Your team (almost) getting shut out?

Go have fun on the slide!

We took my Mom and our girls up to AT&T Park today to hopefully see the Giants sweep the Houston Astros. We shut out the Astros on both Friday and Saturday night. We ended up losing the game today, 7-1. Booooo! We made the most of the day anyway. And it was "free T-shirt" day. Just a few photos to share, with those that care. ;)

This is the second losing game I've been to this year. Not as exciting as a winning game. LOL I made sandwiches this morning and chocolate chip cookies to bring up with us. We brought a cooler with ice and water bottles too. Of course we had packed some peanuts, Dots, chips and caramel corn too. The only thing we had to pay for at the park was $30 parking, a couple beers for Keith and an elephant ear for me. At least we didn't break the bank this time. I still don't know how families afford a day at the ballpark these days.

I have the SF Half Marathon in three weeks. I need to see if I can run flat surfaces without dying, real quick here. I should really get on that.

Illegal fireworks/crackers are still going off in our neighborhood. I know....... special, isn't it? This sends Boomer into a tizzy. Lavender essential oil on the back of his neck seems help him quite a bit. This is a big relief for all of us.

Until later.............

Just so you know......

Bees are BAD!!! Boomer got stung on the right side of his nose when we were at Chabot the other day. Poor little guy. He wouldn't let me touch it so he found a hiding place under a chair in our home office. It's a little bit better today.

And also............

I flaked on the Orthopedist this time.

My supervisor called me at noon and asked if I could come in at 1:00 instead of 3:00 because it was busier than doo-doo at the store. Evidently a ton of people were trying to make last minute purchases before heading away for their camping or backpacking trips.

I am now scheduled to be seen on Tuesday afternoon. Oh, and she is requesting X-rays.

For those that wondered, no I don't have Kaiser. I wish I did. I used to have it and loved it. I never had a problem with them in the five years we were with them. I have Aetna PPO. Even though I had the pregnant IMD, I have faith that was an isolated incident. :-/

So, until later.............

Dissed by the doctor

The medical assistant to the orthopedist I was scheduled to see today left a message on my home phone last night, notifying me that my appointment had to be moved. I never use my home phone. The only people that call my home phone are those that I don't really care to talk to. Therefore, I never check to see if that little red light is blinking on my home phone's answering machine. I didn't notice it until 12:54 this afternoon. D'OH!!! Apparently she had to do an emergency surgery today. Whatever! I have a new appointment Friday afternoon, before work.

I was told on Monday, by the IMD, I should avoid "high impact" exercises such as running. Being the junkie that I am, I cannot NOT go out to a park when I have a chance and the weather is BEE-U-TEE-FUL! Yesterday, I took Boomer and my daughter's dog Bella to Garin for a five mile hike.

I usually don't go up these stairs, only down them. Yesterday I made a few trips up and down them. It's not "high impact" but can still get the heart goin' pretty good.

Early this morning (because I had a 2:45 appointment), my neighbor Jana and I took Boomer and Bella up to Lake Chabot in Castro Valley to do the inner 8.5 mile loop. One of her doggies, Spike, hurt his eye last week when we were out at Sunol. (Sunol seems to take a dog victim, every time we go there). He's got a cone on his head now. She didn't want to just take Izzie because that would have made Spike quite sad.

Jana actually got Bella to swim!!! It was very exciting. Bella was retrieving sticks for Jana. My daughter was sad she wasn't there to see her baby swim for the first time. Poor girl is working out of town for these two days. At least I have photos to show her.

I'm having to tape up my ankle again, thanks to the pregnant IMD sitting on it the other day. Damn, it's like a new sprain all over again. I still can't believe she did that. The pain in my knee is not constant at this point. When I first get up off a chair, it's hard to put my heel flat on the floor. If I push in on the inner portion of my knee, oh boy, that hurts. I avoid doing that. ;) Sometimes, for no reason at all, a sharp pain comes and lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. It's like a pinching sensation. I guess we'll know more on Friday.

Until later.............